Kit Harington, Olivia Washington, Fisayo Akinade and more discuss themes of race and sexuality in Slave Play

WhatsOnStage recently paid a visit to the London cast of Slave Play during rehearsals for the show’s West End premiere.

Kit Harington, Olivia Washington, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Fisayo Akinade and James Cusati-Moyer discuss the 12-time Tony-nominated drama’s themes of race and sexuality, as well as transatlantic pairings, British attitudes towards Black history and the play’s personal impact on them in the video below:

Written by Jeremy O Harris and directed by Robert O’Hara, Slave Play will run at the Noël Coward Theatre from 29 June to 21 September 2024, with tickets on sale now.

The cast also features Aaron Heffernan and Annie McNamara, with Troy Alexander, Dimitri Gripari, Maite Jauregui, Prince Kundai, and Malikah Mcherrin-Cobb serving as understudies.

The creative team includes Clint Ramos (set design), Dede Ayite (costume design), Jiyoun Chang (lighting), Lindsay Jones (composition and sound design), Amy Ball (casting), Aundrea Fudge (voice and dialect coach), Claire Warden (intimacy and fight director), Taylor Williams (original US casting), and Wabriya King (drama therapist). Byron Easley serves as US choreographer, with Jade Hackett as UK choreographer.

Slave Play initially premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in 2018 before transferring to Broadway’s John Golden Theatre in 2019. The production received 12 nominations at the 74th Tony Awards.